Betting on NCAA Basketball Mid-Majors

Anyone who loves college basketball lives for a classic battle between Duke and North Carolina in the storied ACC or a heated in-state rivalry such as Kentucky verse Louisville. However, for anyone who loves to wager on college hoops, one of the best ways to cash-in on the games is by betting on any number of college basketball matchups between teams in the mid-major conferences.

The top six college basketball conferences that are generally regarded as majors include the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC. After that there are 26 additional conferences that fill out the ranks of the 325 teams that make up Division I college basketball. The sheer numbers alone present a multitude of opportunities to bet on Mid-Majors from mid-November all the way to the conference tournaments in early March.

College basketball is one sport where the Oddsmakers do not have the overwhelming edge when it comes to setting the betting odds for the games and this only gets heightened when it comes to the spreads that are released for any number of Mid-Major matchups that are way off the betting public's radar. They simply do not have the time to properly dissect matchups between two schools that nobody but their alumni have ever heard of before. Even when it comes to games featuring some of the higher profile Mid-Majors, the sportsbooks are hard-pressed to keep their lines as sharp as they would like.

Early season tournaments that are made-up of one or two ranked teams and a bunch of Mid-Majors are a great way to build your bankroll in November and December. This is where the Oddsmakers are at their biggest disadvantage given the level of unfamiliarity in any of these of matchups. If you are willing to take the time to properly breakdown the games, you will inevitable come across a few bad lines as the tournament goes on.

Another betting strategy that can often time pay some lucrative dividends is by focusing your attention on some early season nonconference matchups that feature a quality Mid-Major taking on a team from one of the major conferences, especially if they are playing on their home court. These little guys always have something to prove and the best way to catch someone's attention is by upsetting one of the big boys. Quality victories are a huge part of the formula when it comes to selecting the at-large bids for the NCAA Tournament, so a Mid-Major trying to punch its ticket to the Big Dance fully realizes how important it is to make the most of the few opportunities it has to take down a team from one of the six major conferences.

If you are the type of bettor that likes to wait on college basketball until later in the season once conference play does get underway, then one of the best betting strategies is to lock-in on your favorite mid-major conference when it comes to handicapping the games. It has been proven that over time, familiarity though specialization will work to enhance predictability. It would be virtually impossible to do this with every mid-major team; however by becoming a subject matter expert on just one conference, you can create a huge edge over the Oddsmakers that simply do not have the time or level of expertise to set the proper betting lines for every matchup on the schedule.

This is especially true early in the conference schedule when most of the information at hand is based on a team's play in nonconference games and the previous season's betting trends. The make-up of a mid-major basketball team can change dramatically from one year to the next. Most times the addition of one or two playmakers can make all the difference in the world. Taking the time to know which teams can play defense, consistently shoot the ball or have a big man that can control play in the paint will go a long way towards predicting the straight-up winners in your particular conference. From there, all you need to do is wager on the games where the betting lines fall in your favor.

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